Appeal 2006-1080
Application 10/109,343
material, foamed glass, foamed concrete, cellulose fibres, cork or a
dispersion of expanded mineral particles in an organic matrix . . . in sheet . . .
form . . . coated on all faces with a substantially water-impervious
bituminous coating” which can be of, among others, “coal tar pitch,” which
is desirably “substantially non-tacky when dry” (Jackson 1:21-27 and 2:11-
13; see also 1:28 to 2:1). Jackson would have taught this person that the
bituminous coating can be applied by dipping the sheet into a “hot melt”
thereof as well as by spraying or brushing so as to apply the coating to all
edges of the insulating material, and that “it had been found [experimentally]
that a bituminous thickness of at least 5 thousandths of an inch is desirable
to ensure the desired impermeability to water vapour” (id. 2-7). We find that
“5 thousandths of an inch” is 5 mil.
We find that one of ordinary skill in this art routinely following the
teachings of Jackson would have reasonably recognized that “coal tar pitch”
can be used according to the disclosed application methods and applied after
heating to a porous sheet which can be of fibrous material in a manner that
would form a substantially water-impervious sheet. 2 This person would
have reasonably inferred from these teachings that the coal tar pitch must
penetrate the pores of the sheet in order to provide the desired
impermeability and that penetration into the surface of the sheet is necessary
2 It is well settled that, as a matter of fact, a reference stands for all of the
specific teachings thereof as well as the inferences one of ordinary skill in
this art would have reasonably been expected to draw therefrom, see In re
Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1264-65, 23 U.S.P.Q.2d 1780, 1782-83 (Fed. Cir.
1992); In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 U.S.P.Q. 342, 344 (CCPA
1968), presuming skill on the part of this person. In re Sovish, 769 F.2d 738,
743, 226 U.S.P.Q. 771, 774 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
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